17/18" rim combo, advantages/disadvantage???

[khilgers]

I see more and more people running a 17/18" combo and I was wondering what the good, the bad, and the ugly is with this combo. I can understand that a 17" wheel up front would possibly help with more of a responsive turn in, but why put 18's in the back, more grip? My car will be daily driven and see about 6 drift events per year. Just curious as to why people run this setup.

[98koukile]

For drift I wouldn't run an 18 rear but thats just personal preference, It's more for a 2 part staggered look, wider and taller in the back. All I know is thats what I'm running on my kouki

[mrmephistopheles]

The idea of having 17/18 for drifting is that with 17"s in front is that you don't have as much interference with the chassis at full lock than with larger diameter wheels. In other words, when you're at full lock, you won't be trying to smash the fender tubs.

[wakdady]

i would imagine you get more understeer with that setup. even running same diameter but staggered widths could create extra understeer, although more astheticaly pleasing.

[FaLKoN240]

17/18 has a lot of benefits.

Business in the front, baller in the back.

17" wheels give more clearance from lock to lock with less work on pulling the fenders running a crazier stretch etc.

A smaller diameter wheel means a lighter load on all of your steering components when driving the car hard.

I've read that a lot of guys have issues breaking suspension components in the front when running 18s with a large width.

17" tires are cheaper than 18" tires so you save money on tires.

18s in the back are mostly for looks, and better tire sizing too. 18s come in 225/40/18 in all sorts of different brands. 225/40/17 tires usually A: Suck or B: Expensive C: Both.

There's more reasons I can think of, but those were my reasons when I decided I wanted 17/18 stagger.

i would imagine you get more understeer with that setup. even running same diameter but staggered widths could create extra understeer, although more astheticaly pleasing.

Why would that create understeer? He didn't even specify widths.

[spencer240sx]

the 17 in the front is for more grip caused by the tire flex and the 18 have less tire flex , less rear flex acts as stiffer in the rear, it is like you lower the tire pressure to get more traction.

[khilgers]

the 17 in the front is for more grip caused by the tire flex and the 18 have less tire flex , less rear flex acts as stiffer in the rear, it is like you lower the tire pressure to get more traction.

I don't think the diamater would determine the amount of grip, more or less the width of the tire and profile.

[khilgers]

He didn't even specify widths.

I was planning on running:

Front 17x9.5 +18
225/40/17 Falken Azenis

Rear 18x9.5 +15
235/40/18 Falken Azenis (street)
225/40/18 Federals (drift)

[dorkidori_s13]

I don't think the diamater would determine the amount of grip, more or less the width of the tire and profile.


from what ive read and talked to a few shops who run fully built drift cars...it has to do with the angle the car sits at...especially s13s...i guess the steering rack needs to be kept at an angle so you dont start snapping tie rods

but i could be totally wrong as well

[wakdady]

more unsprung weight in the rear to "push" the car. if they are wider in the rear, then more grip to the rear gives less oversteer, which equals more understeer.
nothing thats going to make the car "undriveable" or anything. but there is a difference.

[Dousan_PG]

its the best set up ever
feels fantastic
i would never go back to 17/17

whoever says it causes understter is a douchebag
shit feels AMAZING drifting

there's a reason most drift cars ahve this setup
its freaking awesome.
ive been doing this way for like...3 yeasr now?

[wakdady]

its the best set up ever
feels fantastic
i would never go back to 17/17

whoever says it causes understter is a douchebag
shit feels AMAZING drifting

there's a reason most drift cars ahve this setup
its freaking awesome.
ive been doing this way for like...3 yeasr now?

you can stagger tire sizes on the same size rims and change understeer/oversteer characteristics. whats not to say that doesnt apply when adding more weight to a specific wheel, or staggering rim width or diameter. no one said you cant drift that way. i personally have 17x9 front 17x10 rear, i know they rear pushes a little more than if the rear were 17x9, but it's nothing the driver cant cope with

[Dousan_PG]

yeah thats probably why
i run 235/40/17 re01rs (wide) tires on 9.5
and 245/40/18 dz101s on the 10.5x18

so im sure width wise might be about same?
maybe?

i dont know.
just feels awesome.

[khilgers]

wouldn't HP also be a factor to consider? I have an S14 SR with just minor bolts ons. It will be tuned next spring on a Power FC, and I was thinking it would be around 275 WHP @ 15 psi on the T28.

Is a bigger wheel/tire combo in the back better suited for high HP cars? Most of the tracks around here are slower, more technical. Innitiations of around 40 MPH.

[slow40sx]

maybe its for the same reason VW guys run staggered wheels, cause it looks "ballin" :barf:

[Dousan_PG]

i ran 17/18 when i had a s14 turbo on my stock s14 sr at 1 bar
it was a-ok. no problemos

[bRUt@L`S13]

im glad u guys went over this topic when im in the process of getting new wheels ;)

what about mountain runs? is this setup good for that too or only drift? i was thinking of running a 17x9 and 18x10

[jspec240]

all about the looks. or for a drag set up

[wakdady]

im glad u guys went over this topic when im in the process of getting new wheels ;)

what about mountain runs? is this setup good for that too or only drift? i was thinking of running a 17x9 and 18x10

mountain runs? where? coils and 18's or 17's with low profile tires equals bent rims. trying to miss a pothole on a touge run when you are going 7/10ths can be rather difficult. most people talk about this stuff like that can control a car like schumaker or raikkonen. truth is, most of us cannot actually keep a car at the limit in perfect balance. therefore allowing us to say yay or nay to staggered rims is really nonsense. just try it, you'll probly like it and never notice the understeer.

[PoorMans180SX]

There a bunch of minor positives and negatives about a stagger. Most of them are mentioned above.

And all this tire size stuff. Grip is mostly dependent on contact patch size, which depends on a load of other things. Just run the tire sizes that you like. Whatever you do best with. It's somewhat trial and error.

[JoeC1982]

sorry to bump this but i've got a set of 17x9 and 18x9 weds and need some advice on tire sizes. car will be only used for daily driving, should i go 235/45-17, 235/40-18 or 245/40-17, 255/35-18? the 235's all the way around are quite a bit cheaper.

[steve shadows]

17/18 has a lot of benefits.

Business in the front, baller in the back.



People still say "baller"

[FaLKoN240]

People still say "baller"

Is that a question, or statement?

[azndoc]

I run 17/18 right now.

I love it. Just tires cost more.

I don't know how or why but when I switched to 18's in the rear it was a lot easier to drift for me personally.

I need to go wider though for the front and rear soon.

right now it's 17x9 +12 and 18x9.5 +12.

[captinamy]

so what happens when u go 18x9.5's all around on a stock sr? would you still be able to drift? or would it be pointless leaving it stock..?

[MrChow]

sorry to bump this but i've got a set of 17x9 and 18x9 weds and need some advice on tire sizes. car will be only used for daily driving, should i go 235/45-17, 235/40-18 or 245/40-17, 255/35-18? the 235's all the way around are quite a bit cheaper.
Yashio S13 that they setup for street ran F235/40/17 R235/40/18 but I don't know what size the wheels were.
I hope that help any.

[OptionZero]

you should not buy any tires with a 45 aspect ratio

[JoeC1982]

you should not buy any tires with a 45 aspect ratio
even just for a dd? i may just send the 18's back and order 17's from a spec so i can run 245/40 all around.

[wakdady]

you should not buy any tires with a 45 aspect ratio

why should one NOT run 45 aspect tires?

[FaLKoN240]

why should one NOT run 45 aspect tires?

If you plan on lowering your car a lot you come into a lot of rubbing issues.

17s suck because not many companies offer 225/40/17

[azndoc]

yes that is true.

I would love to get some 225/40/27 tires but its hard to find them in good brands.

I run 215/45/17 for my front on 9 inch right now.

[hitman]

i run 17s all around becuase 18 inch tires are too expensive for me
215 40 17 front s14 9 -13